The first exhibition to focus on David Hurn’s photographs from the 1960s is opened at Magnum Print Room in London. This show reflects the range of Hurn’s diverse output in just one decade – from celebrity portraits to the British at the seaside, the anti-Vietnam war London protests of 1968 to street scenes of Manhattan.
“Life as it unfolds in front of the camera is full of so much complexity, wonder and surprise that I find it unnecessary to create new realities. There is more pleasure, for me, in things as-they-are.” – David Hurn
Best-known for his portraits of icons such as Sean Connery from With Russia with Love and Jane Fonda in Barbarella, Hurn’s work in the 1960s provides a chronicle of the decade. Pivotal historical moments such as the funeral of Winston Churchill in 1965 are juxtaposed with scenes of every day life of all sides of the social spectrum – from crowds at the famous Hammersmith Palais dancehall to the debutantes at Queen Charlotte’s ball and the counterculture vitality of the Isle of Wight festival in 1969.
A self-taught photographer, David Hurn (b.1934) began his career in 1955 as an assistant at the Reflex Agency. He gained his early reputation through his reportage of the 1956 Hungarian revolution and became a full member of Magnum Photos in 1967. In 1973 he set up the influential School of Documentary Photography in Newport, Wales and remained director until 1989. In 1997 he collaborated with Professor Bill Jay on the landmark book On Being a Photographer. Hurn’s self-initiated book Wales: Land of My Father most reflects his style and creative impetus, drawing upon observations of the changes taking place in Wales from 1970 until the book’s publication by Thames & Hudson thirty years later in 2000. His work is held in major collections including British Council, London; ICP, New York, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Bibliothèque nationale de France and National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, amongst others. David Hurn continues to live in, and work from, his home in Tintern, Wales.
The exhibition coincides with the release of a new hardback book The 1960s: Photographed by David Hurn, including an introduction by Peter Doggett, published by Reel Art Press.
EXHIBITION
David Hurn’s 1960s photographs
From 19 November 2015 to 31 January 2016
Magnum Print Room
63 Gee Street
London EC1V3RS
United Kingdom
Opening hours: Wednesday-Friday 11am-4.30pm
http://www.magnumphotos.com
BOOK
The 1960s – David Hurn
Reel Art Press
Hardback; 192pp; 240 colour and b/w photographs
290 x 245 mm / 11.4 x 10 in.
ISBN: 978-1-909526-13-6
£29.95 / $49.95;
Also available in three limited edition versions: A Hard Day’s Night, From Russia With Love and Barbarella.
Each edition is limited to 50 signed and numbered copies only. Each edition includes a limited edition, numbered silver gelatin photograph of either A Hard Day’s Night, From Russia With Love or Barbarella, signed by David Hurn, exclusive to the edition. Each book is also numbered and signed by David Hurn.
http://www.reelartpress.com
